Heartstrings Waltz
by JediTears09
Summary: /Kaien, who had been less-than-discretely watching them from the balcony, called out, "Zero, dance with my Yuki!" "That's an order," he added in a sing-song voice. With a last, stony look at Kaien, Zero turned to Yuki, and put out a hand./  oneshot


_A/N: This is sort of a re-write of the ballroom scene. I don't particularly care for Kaname, so… take that. Haha, enjoy! [Obviously, this fanfic contains spoilers for the anime.]_

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Heartstrings Waltz

. . .

Zero stared blankly around the room, aware of the couples waltzing around him, but not really seeing them.

He should be somewhere else. He clenched his fists as an image of that woman passed before his eyes. She might have another form these days, but the way his blood boiled and his heart pounded when he saw "Maria"… it was her, Shizuka Hio, laughing quietly at him as he struggled, a trail of blood trickling from her lips… _his_ blood.

He started a little as someone grabbed his tie and forced it tighter around his neck.

"Come here Zero," Yuki smiled that smile at him. "A guy should wear his clothes properly, at least for tonight."

He almost smiled as she clipped a rose onto his jacket, but harsh reality flooded his mind again quickly.

"I don't get it," he said," how can you keep on smiling like that?"

Yuki looked taken aback for a moment, but then she said, "Well… it's because I… because what I want is for you to smile too, Zero."

She smiled again, and then turned and ran off to check the rest of the ballroom for trouble.

The honesty in her eyes cut through him like a knife, and he felt suddenly ashamed of himself. He was letting his own misery make her sad too, and that was unforgiveable.

Why did she care about him so much? Couldn't she see how much he was hurting her? Of course not. It probably never even crossed her mind, kindhearted as she was. He sighed, hopelessly, watching the class rep get shot down, yet again, by Ruka.

His second of allowed amusement was cut short as he caught sight of Yuki dancing with Kaname out on the terrace. A hollow feeling entered his chest.

For a moment, they stopped, and it looked like they were arguing about something. But then, Kaname pulled Yuki close to him, hugging her tightly and whispering something tenderly in her ear.

He forced himself to look away, biting his lip so hard that he tasted blood. Yuki loved him, and for that reason Zero knew he would never threaten Kaname's life. All the same, the way he looked at her was unnatural, perverted in Zero's eyes, and he bit back an urge to scream at Kaname to take his filthy hands off her.

But Zero… his own crime against her was much worse, he thought, as he stared down at his pale and shaking hands, that had been so often stained with her blood.

He looked up as someone called his name, and raised an eyebrow at the slight girl that stood nervously before him.

Nadashiko Shindo's voice quavered as she said, "Um… will you dance with me, Zero? After all, you did rescue me once. Or we… we could just talk."

It was unfathomable to Zero why she would ask this of him. He had never been particularly nice to her, even downright rude on occasion. He wanted to yell at her, to tell her to get away from him, that he was… broken. Too dangerous to get close to. The only person he ever truly let in was Yuki, and look what he had done to her.

Instead, he shook his head, and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't dance, and I'm busy. Excuse me."

As he turned to walk away, he saw the hurt in Shindo's eyes, and his heart clenched with guilt.

"It's for your own good," he whispered.

Someone tugged on the back of his sleeve, and he turned around expecting to see Shindo making another attempt to persuade him to dance.

Instead, surprised, he saw Yuki. He was momentarily struck mute- she really was beautiful, and the dress she was wearing gave her skin a warm glow.

"Zero," she said brightly, "you owe me a dance!"

He forced himself to blink, then swallowed dryly, and said, "I can't dance, you know that. Besides, aren't we supposed to be patrolling?"

She frowned at him. "Oh, now you're worried about doing your duty? This is new. Come on, everything is going perfectly, we can take a few minutes off."

"Right, headmaster?" she said, too loudly.

Kaien, who had been less-than-discretely watching them from the balcony, said, "Call me daddy! And of course. Zero, dance with my Yuki!"

"That's an order," he added in a sing-song voice.

With a last, stony look at Kaien, he turned to Yuki, and put out a hand.

Yuki took it, and placed it on her waist, then slipped her hand into his.

Zero took a breath, then took a step forward. He quickly jumped back when he realized he had just stepped on her foot.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, looking at the ground.

Yuki laughed, repositioned his hands, then Zero blushed as she pulled closer to him and began to whisper counts in his ear.

His feet seemed to move of their own accord, in perfect rhythm to the sound of her soft voice.

"One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. That's it, you're getting it!"

She looked up at him, joyfully. "See? Yuki Cross can teach anyone to dance, even you, Zero!" she exclaimed, poking her finger into his chest.

Zero smiled, despite himself.

He didn't know what it was, but something about her was warm enough to melt even his heart.

He dared to pull her a little closer, and rested his chin on her head as they circled about the ballroom.

His gaze passed over Kaname, who was standing in the doorway leading from the terrace. His eyes were livid.

Earlier, Kaname and Yuki had looked like they were having a tender moment… had Yuki run away from him to find Zero?

The initial pleasure of this thought was quickly washed away by a second wave of doubt, and he pulled away from her.

She looked confused and protested, "Zero, the song isn't over yet, what are you doing?"

Zero carefully avoided her eyes. "Weren't you dancing with Kaname? Won't he be angry?"

Something flitted across her face, sadness perhaps, but she said stubbornly, "I don't remember you ever caring what he thought before. Besides, I can dance with whoever I like, and I want to dance with you."

Zero wasn't buying it. "But why?"

Yuki sighed. "Look, Zero, I really care about you. You're my best friend. I don't like seeing you sad all the time. If there's anything, anything at all that will make you happy, I'll do it," she said softly, gently taking his hand.

A pause.

"Would you leave Kaname?" Zero asked, his misery seeping into his voice.

Yuki looked as though she might cry. "You can't ask me to do that, Zero."

"Of course not." He tried to walk away from her, but she held on to his hand.

Desperately, she said, "I just can't, Zero. Kaname is the first thing I can remember. If I let him go… I'm terrified that I'll be lost in the snowstorm forever."

He had done it again. Sad, guilty tears were welling up in her eyes.

Zero awkwardly put his arms around her, and she buried her face in his chest.

"It's okay, Yuki. I shouldn't have asked you that. It was wrong of me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Yuki stopped crying, but didn't move. Zero heard a muffled voice say, "…I love you, Zero."

Before he could stop himself, he whispered, "Why?"

Taken aback, she tilted her head back to look into his sad grey eyes.

"Why would you love a monster like me?" he asked in a tortured voice.

"_Baka_," she whispered, before grabbing him by the collar and pulling him into a kiss.

All Zero's problems seemed to melt away the second her lips touched his.

A few perfect moments later, she leaned her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist with a contented little sigh.

Zero held her closely, listening to the sound of her heart beating, happier than he had been in years.

"Sometimes," Yuki said softly, "you let other people catch a glimpse of your soul. And it is beautiful, Zero Kiryu."

And for once, he believed her.

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_A/N: Fin! This story was a long time in the making, so I'm glad I finished it. Oh, and we're assuming that Yuki has no romantic attachments to Kaname here, so she's not two-timing anyone. Also, Kaname is a creeper. That is all. Thanks for reading!_


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